G R A N D P A L A C E
The Grand Palace area is in the center of the main historical quarter in Bangkok, Ko Ratanakosin, along the east side of the river.
Inside you can find the gorgeous temple Wat Phra Kaew - hosting the Emerald Buddha - and the (once upon a time) residence of the King.
This ground is where Bangkok was originally founded and declared capital in later 18th century.
The whole complex is still in pristine conditions and I can say I couldn't avoid to see beautiful details and architecture, wherever I pointed my eyes.
W A T A R U N
Wat Arun means Temple of the Dawn, because the first light of the morning is reflected on the shiny surface of the temple.
The central prang dominates the landscape, and symbolizes mount Meru of the Indian cosmology. The four satellite prangs are devoted to the wind god Phra Phai.
Wat Arun was built when Ayuthaya was still the capital and was originally called Wat Makok (The Olive Temple), then Wat Chaeng, Wat Arunratchatharam by King Rama II,
who also restored the temple and enlarged the central prang. Finally, King Rama IV gave the temple the present name Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahavihara.
Together with the Wat Phra Waew and the Wat Pho, the Wat Arun makes the sacred triumvirate of Bangkok ancient history.
K H A O S A N R O A D
Some shots from The pub street in Bangkok. This street is always full of people and it has possibly the highest concentration of foreigners in the whole city.
Our apartment was not far from there and we spent basically every night there for dinner, including the new year's eve.
W A T P H O
Together with the Wat Phra Khaew and Wat Arun, Wat Pho makes the sacred triumvirate of Bangkok ancient history. It's the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok - it was actually created 200 years before Bangkok became capital.
Amongst hundreds of images of Buddha, its main feature is a huge, gold plated reclining Buddha sculpture which extends for most of the main building length. The reclining Buddha is 46m long and 15m high.
The main building interior walls are fully decorated with drawings describing various tales related to Buddha history (I couldn't find exact sources about it).
The Wat Pho hosts also the national headquarters of the traditional Thai medicine and massage school - it is said that the traditional Thai massage was actually born here.
W A T T R I T H O S A T H E P
This is a nice temple I discovered by chance while walking.
W A T I N T H A R A W I H A N
Located very close to our apartment, the Wat Intharawihan's main feature is a 32m high standing Buddha statue, decorated with gold painting and mosaics. It took more than 60 years to complete.
K H L O N G P A D U N G
A R E A
Some shots taken in the area around Pat's apartment - and further away. From the living areas full of small and big food vendors, small shops, to the Golden Mount, towards a small quarter of
wooden houses by a canal.
S I P A K O R N
U N I V E R S I T Y
I took a relaxing walk inside the prestigious Sipakorn University, located near the Grand Palace. I basically stayed around the Art department, entering a big hall full of sculptures of subjects from any era,
and sitting in the shadows in a nice courtyard populated by modern art statues and... traditional cats.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S
Various photos taken around the city.
C I T Y P I L L A R
The City Pillar in a Thai city is traditionally its center, from where all the distances are calculated. The Bangkok City Pillar is hosted in the Lak Muang shrine, which is actually
what you are going to see in the photos.
S I A M O C E A N W O R L D
We payed a visit to what it's claimed to be "the biggest aquarium in South-East Asia", where numerous species of fishes and deep sea creatures are exposed and breeded.
Many funny and amazing creatures, including giant crabs, mantas, small and big sharks, penguins and so on.
Very dark and very challenging for my poor camera, but I got some keepers.
As a side note, we also enjoyed a 3D fantasy movie about some microbes living on the Apollo 11 and landing on the Moon together with Armstrong & co. The chairs were actually vibrating and moving in sync with the film, and there was even wind...
T A L I N G C H A N
F L O A T I N G M A R K E T
On our last day in Bangkok we went to the Taling Chan floating market, where you can sit by the river and have some food prepared on the fly by cooks sitting on their wooden boats.
N I G H T B O A T T R I P
We had a dinner on a big boat doing a night cruise on the river, enjoying the views of buildings lit in the dark.
